Rowland Harris
Character Analysis

Commissioner Harris believes in the beauty of his work and trusts that the projects he is in charge of, such as the construction of the Bloor Street Viaduct and the waterworks, will be glorious additions to the city of Toronto. Despite these lofty ambitions, Harris proves indifferent to the plight of the many workers whose lives he presides over. He prefers to invent excuses for the workers’ exploitation than to actually confront the problem head-on.

Rowland Harris Quotes in In the Skin of a Lion

The In the Skin of a Lion quotes below are all either spoken by Rowland Harris or refer to Rowland Harris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

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Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Vintage edition of In the Skin of a Lion published in 1987.

Part 3: Chapter 2: Maritime Theatre
Quotes

- You watch, in fifty years they’re going to come here and gape at the herringbone and the copper roofs. We need excess, something to live up to. I fought tooth and nail for that herringbone.

- You fought. You fought. Think about those who built the intake tunnels. Do you know how many of us died in there?

You must realize you are like these places, Patrick. You’re as much of the fabric as the aldermen and the millionaires. But you’re among the dwarfs of enterprise who never get accepted or acknowledged. Mongrel company. You’re a lost heir. So you stay in the woods. You reject power. And this is how the bland fools – the politicians and press and mayors and their advisers – become the spokesmen for the age.

Rowland Harris Character Timeline in In the Skin of a Lion

The timeline below shows where the character Rowland Harris appears in In the Skin of a Lion. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Part 1: Chapter 2: The Bridge

During the bridge’s construction, Commissioner Harris always comes to look at the bridge in the evening. Harris has dreamed of this...
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Harris enjoys seeing the bridge at night because it allows him to concentrate on its general...
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Watching the nuns, Harris concludes that they must have lost their way at night and become attracted by the...
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Even though Commissioner Harris has never spoken to Nicholas Temelcoff directly, he sees how Temelcoff listens attentively to the...
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...him that performing physical tasks. He also proves particularly knowledgeable about people’s movements, recognizing Commissioner Harris by his walk and his expensive coat, which costs more than the sum of five...
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...landscape of the valley better than anyone else, even the engineer, the architect, and Commissioner Harris, as though Nicholas were a bird. He looks around him and longs for the absent...
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Part 2: Chapter 1: Palace of Purification

Above ground, Commissioner Harris organizes the excavations and the variety of elements that make up the waterworks, provided by...
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Although Harris has sent the photographer Arthur Goss in the tunnels, he has never been there himself,...
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Part 3: Chapter 2: Maritime Theatre

...the waterworks, the police and the army began to guard buildings to protect from attacks. Harris established a security parameter and was the only person inside the building at night. Comfortable...
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When Harris hears a sound that he does not recognize as the machine’s ordinary noise, he walks...
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When Patrick enters Harris’s office some time later, the Commissioner sees him walk in, though Patrick is unrecognizable, covered...
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After thinking for a while, Harris begins to speak, explaining that he has worked hard to arrive at his current position,...
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Patrick then asks Harris to turn the light off, because the darkness makes him feel more awake. Harris tells...
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Patrick interrupts Harris’s speech to tell him about Alice Gull’s death. When Harris mentions that she was killed...
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When Patrick goes quiet, Harris calls out to him. In the darkness, Harris realizes that Patrick swam all the way...
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